But one thing I hadn’t had the time for was a proper petticoat
(one that actually was wide enough to fit over the huge hoops).
So that’s where I begun.
Using 2,5 white cotton sheets from IKEA I cut and pleated a whole afternoon and evening, before I could call it a day and consider myself done.

When the under-layers was done (I know, I know – She could easily have used her another petticoat, but this will have to do for now) it was time for the rest of the outfit.

On the same event 2 years ago, I made my sister a more basic version of this years outfit, so some of the pieces she needed was already waiting in the closet. We re-used the shirt and swiss-waist she’d worn last time.
Added a longer silk-ribbon to the neck and that was that 🙂

Well, actually she still needed something on her head…

I’d warned her beforehand, that I might not have the time to come up with something new, but when I came upon this perfectly cheap straw-hat (IKEA, once again) a few days before the event, I knew I needed to give it a try.
I Started by picking almost the whole hat apart.

I only left a few cm on the crown, before I (with the fashion plate as a guide)started to pin the braid back in a different shape. It took me several hours and multitude of re-pinning and starting all over again before I finally had a shape that was good.

after a first try at hand-stitching, I decided that if it couldn’t be done by machine it was not meant to happen this time (since this was the night before the event).
Turns out, it worked like a charm. It was a bit fiddly to turn the brim around inside my machine but with the right angle (and the use of free space ove r the table edge) the hat was stitched in no time.
Once the base was done I started adding decoration, using the same braid as on the jacket & skirt. Note the braid stitched both to the upper and under sides of the brim.

The final touch was to add some flowers and I opted for a nice pop of color with a few of these plastic flowers.

Once my Elizabeth I dress was finished, it was time to get some good photos of the outfit.

The night before the photoshoot I pulled out all the things needed (stockings, shoes, hairpins, and so on) when I noticed my green quilted petticoat was no where to be found.
After some searching I suddenly realized – It (amongst lots of other stuff) was currently on loan to Ekenäs castle as part of an exhibition.

Crap!

And I didn’t own anything to get even close to the bounciness it provided to my skirts.
And the Elizabethan gown REALLY needed some serious bounce…

Dubble crap!

So what’s a girl to do?

Make another one of course!

Thankfully they are not that hard to make, and since I actually had planned to make a second one a while back, so the needed material was already waiting in my “to make” pile.

A pre-quilted bedspread bought cheep at a big dollar store.bild

The facts:

What: A Quilted petticoat aprox 1500-1900
used in the past for warmt and skirt support (to get the fashionable shape)

Final thoughts: This is such a nice and fast piece to make, and even though it’s not as sturdy as my green petticoat I really like the shape it gives. Plus it will aslo work as a skirt worn with a 18th century jacket or Anglaise.

Ok, enough silliness.
Last weekend I’ve made a 18th century petticoat/skirt.
Here in Sweden “Petticoat” means – “under skirt” or hoop-skirt if you’r talking wedding dresses, and a skirt is just a skirt – nothing else.
But in historic sentence these two seems to be interchangeable (at least to me, since I’d always had a bit trouble keeping the two apart in English).
But I then I read in “Cut of womens clothes” that after 1660s “the underskirt was always called a petticoat”.
Does that mean you can call the same garment “skirt” or “petticoat” deepening on the way it is worn at the moment?

Anyhow,
I’t was such an easy and quick project even though I made it by hand.
One day in front of the computer watching series, and it was done.

I bought this brown fabric for a steal from an online fabric sale – convinced it was a striped cotton twill (as the website claimed).
But once delivered it was more like a heavy polyester made for suits and pants. Darn it.
Well, the price of sending it back would be more then the fabric itself, so I decided to go ahead and make my skirt anyway.

It worked surprisingly well, if you don’t count the bump in my fingers from pressing the needle through, and the heaviness of the fabric gives the skirt and hem a nice drape.

The construction is really simple using two width of fabrics and cartridge-pleating them to a narrow waistband.

I also made sure to hem it quite short, to mimic the length of the fashion plate.

Finished:

Fabric: 2 m of brown polyester “twill”

Notions: thread, Hook and eye.

Cost: about 40Sek (6 Usd) all and all – I told you, a steal 🙂

Time: About 5 hours of hand stitching.

Final thought: I like the drape of the skirt and the pleating looks really nit, even though I would have wished for a thicker fabric.
I think the skirt will look great combined with the new bodice/jacket and accessories I’m working on, for the “peasant fiest” I’m hoping to attend in about two weeks.

With the sewing steam already up and running there was no use to stop now. So I did a second entry to the HSF Challenge 13 – Under 10 Usd. I decided I needed a flounced pettiocat to wear over my new crinoline, and that was that.

I grabbed two cheap cotton/poyester blends sheets from the linnen cabit and got to work.

Using one as the base, and ripped the other one in four to create the flounce. I originaly planed to have three or at least two rows of flounces but I overestimated how much fabric whent into even one of those poppies.

Full speed ahead as I where I also forgot to take progress pics, but the construction was really simple. Just used straight pieces, sewed them togeter and gathered the waist. Popped on a hook and eye for clouser and that was that..

Pic from the photoshoot:

Just the facts:

Challenge: 13 – Under 10 Usd

What: a 1850s petticoat.

Pattern: None, just cut stripes and sewed.

Fabric: 2 cotton bed sheets.

Notions: Thread, 80 cm of twill tape, hook and eye.

How historical accurate: Exept for the use of sewing machine I think the accuracy is pretty good. The fabric, method and shape are all about right. 7/10

Time: 2 hours.

Cost: 65 Sek (10 Usd)

First worn: Around the house for photos.

Final thoughts: I wished I had had some more fabric to make two more rows of ruffels from, but then it would have been to exensive and wouldn’t have fitted the challenge. Anyhow I think it looks pretty good and works just fine.

And so we start of the new sewing year with HSF14 Challenge nr 1: Make-do/Mend.

As I stated before, I’m determend to try to fit the challenges this year in to my list of items which needs to be made. So with a bit of bending the rules on this challenge, I got to use it for that 1880s ruffled petticoat I desperetly need for my up-coming balgown.

Historical Accuracy: So so. The style and siluett is about right, but I’m sure the ladies of the day knew not to scrimp on the fabric in this kind of grmnent. Maybe 4/10.

Time: 4 hours.

Cost: 90 Sek (10 Usd).

First worn: Around the house for photos (and testing the toile for the gown…) But it will get a proper outing on january 25, for the gran bal at the opera.

Final Thoughts: I think this petticoat was to much of a rush job to begin with. I wish I had taken the time to make it proper and use enough fabric to get a nice ruffeled bustle. Instead I spread the ruffels to whide and gathered them to losely. It’s a good thing it will be hidden beneath the skirts.

Often when I talk to people who are not that familiar with historical costuming, I get askt about what I’m wearing underneath my dresses.

All you people who already do historic costuming know that it’s the undergarmnent that makes the outfit (and takes the longest time while dressing), and without the right support and stuffing you would get nowhere.

Most people know about corsets, but not that much more. So I tought it would be fun to “strip the lady down” and reveal what hides beneath.

The undergarmnent changes with fashion and will be constructed and look differently depending on time period, wealth of the wearer, and personal taste. But the overal layering will remain somewhat the same through the 16th to early 20th century. Only changing in name, siluett and constuction.

This time I will do the 1750s noble woman.

We start fully dressed in: pet-en-l’aire (jacket), skirt, hairdo and accessoares. (She would also sometimes wear a neck-cloth and some lace-cuffs at the sleeves. And of course some kind of headwear.)

Then we remove the accessoares and the pinned on stomacher – reveling part of the corset underneath.

Then the jacket it-self is taken of.

And then the skirt, revealing the petticoat. You would wear as many petticoats as neccesary for warmt, and to hide the sometimes sharp shapes from the undergarmnents. Sometimes as many as 5 petticoats on top of each other.

Now we are down to the under garmnents:

The shift/chemise is being worn closest to the body, is made in an light, washable fabric and has the task of collecting the dirt and swet from the body.

Then there is the costet – made to shape the torso into the desired fashionable form, and to provide a solid form to drape the clothes on.

The pocket hoops or “pocher” are smal and cresent shaped and ties at the waist. They are what gives the skirt it distinct form. The hoops comes in many different shapes and sizes and often makes the hips 3 times the waist measurments.

The stockings are above knee lenght and secured with ribbon.

This is just one of the many ways to dress as a 18th century lady, but I hope it give you a better understanding of the amount of items needed in the costuming closet, exept for the pretty gown…